Rapper on the run after robbing Atlanta bank

CONYERS, Ga. — Talk about life imitating art. Police are on the lookout for a Cincinnati-based rapper who reportedly robbed a bank in an east Atlanta suburb, not long after he posted a YouTube rap video in which he simulates robbing a bank.

Kevin Simons, who goes by the name Kev Murda, was seen on a bank surveillance video donning fake glasses as he was robbing the Wells Fargo on Highway 138 in Conyers on August 3 after threatening the teller in a handwritten note.

Police say Simons made sure the teller returned his note when she handed over the cash that he demanded, then he ran across the street to the rear of a drug store and threw the handgun, fake glasses, the hold-up note and his shirt on the ground in a wooded area. Another surveillance camera captures the rapper getting into a getaway taxi with his girlfriend, Alyssa Jarrae Williams, 21, and riding away.

Police want people to watch the video for a chance at a $5,000 reward. The video shows where police say people will see photos of the bank robber.

In the video, Simons “even goes as far as to show a hand-drawn drawing in the video of Mr. Simons demanding someone put ‘money in the bag’, which is language consistent with a robbery,” Cpl. Buck Vaughn with Conyers police said.

Detective Vaughn says Simons and Williams arrived in Metro Atlanta in late July, taking a bus from Cincinnati in an effort to try to further his rap career. Vaughn says Simons is a member of a southwest Ohio gang called Heartless Felons, adding that they are known for “violence and extortion.”

Police were also obtaining the fare records of the getaway taxicab seen on the surveillance video, tracking it to an extended stay motel in Conyers. Det. Vaughn says Simons had registered at the motel under his real name, according to WSBTV. The check-in clerk reportedly made a copy of Simons’ real driver’s license.

What is strange is what happened after the robbery.

Police say that, 30 minutes after Simons robbed the bank, he sent his girlfriend back to the area to look for the gun. Officers were still on the scene, saw Williams, 21, and immediately arrested her.

Simons remains on the loose.

“He is believed to be armed,” said Det. Vaughn. “He’s obviously a threat to the people of this community. We want to take him into custody as quickly and as safely as we can.”

Vaughn says Simons has family in Metro Atlanta and that’s why they believe he is still in the area.